Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease Spreads To Uganda

April 4, 2013 by 1 Comment

Maize plants showing Maize Lethal Necrosis disease © CIMMYT via Flickr (License CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Maize plants showing Maize Lethal Necrosis disease © CIMMYT via Flickr (License CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Maize Lethal Necrosis disease, which was first reported in Kenya and Tanzania, has now spread to Uganda, raising concerns for food security in the country. The Ministry of Agriculture has warned that Maize Lethal Necrosis has been reported in districts in eastern Uganda, including Busia and Tororo.

A spokesman for the Agriculture Research Organisation, Robert Anguzo, has said that Ugandan scientists are working in collaboration with the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT) to find management solutions to the disease.

More information about the pests and viruses associated with Maize Lethal Necrosis and the management of the disease can be found on the Plantwise Knowledge Bank

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Filed under Agriculture, Crop losses, Food security, Knowledge Bank, Plant health, Plant pests and diseases Tagged with , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

How The Gates Foundation and Carlos Slim are Supporting Innovation and Crop Improvement For Farmers

February 20, 2013 by Leave a comment

Carlos Slim, Bill Gates and Mexican Dignitaries visit CIMMYT to inaugurate the new Bioscience facilities © Eruviel Avila (CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0)

Carlos Slim, Bill Gates and Mexican Dignitaries visit CIMMYT to inaugurate the new Bioscience facilities © Eruviel Avila (CC-BY-NC-SA 2.0)

The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation and Fundación Carlos Slim have announced a partnership in support of efforts by the Centro Internacional de Mejoramiento de Maíz y Trigo (International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center CIMMYT) in Mexico to develop and disseminate higher-yielding, more resilient wheat and maize varieties. Read more of this post

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CABI scientists help to uncover new occurrences of plant diseases

January 18, 2013 by 1 Comment

Tertiary vein chlorosis of Cassava Brown Streak Disease, just one of the diseases CABI scientists have worked on in 2012 © IITA (CC By-NC licence)

Tertiary vein chlorosis of Cassava brown streak disease, just one of the diseases CABI scientists worked on in 2012 © IITA (CC BY-NC licence)

In 2012, CABI scientists continued to contribute to the discovery of new occurrences of plant pests and diseases, via the Plantwise diagnostic service. CABI’s Plantwise initiative offers a free service for eligible clients in developing countries, providing disease identification support to plant clinics. Every year, the DFID-funded service receives more than 500 samples from 80 different countries. CABI and Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA) scientists then diagnose the problem and report any new occurrences of pathogens they find. The following published reports contain examples of new occurrences discovered in 2012.

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Armyworms devastate crops in Zambia, threatening food security

December 14, 2012 by 3 Comments

Armyworms can devastate crop yields © Rikus Kloppers/PANNAR Seed (Pty) Ltd

Armyworms can devastate crop yields © Rikus Kloppers/PANNAR Seed (Pty) Ltd

Armyworms in Zambia are threatening food security by reducing crop yields. This was the message from former Agriculture Minister Eustarkio Kazong, speaking in an interview for Zambian radio station, QFM. Armyworms are attacking crops, causing major damage to maize, cassava, sorghum and rice. In Kabwe, the capital of the Central Province where the first cases were reported, armyworms have already been reported to have destroyed 6500 hectares of maize crop. Despite measures to prevent the spread, cases of armyworms have today been confirmed in 5 of the country’s 10 provinces. Farmers in the remaining provinces have been advised to take precautions as the pest could spread to the whole country.
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New Research on Maize Lethal Necrosis Disease in Kenya

September 5, 2012 by 6 Comments

Maize showing symptoms of Maize Chlorotic Mottle Virus © CIMMYT (CC BY-NC-SA license, via Flickr)

Update [March 2013]: More information about the pests and viruses associated with Maize Lethal Necrosis disease can be found on the Plantwise Knowledge Bank.

The production of maize, Kenya’s staple food crop, is severely under threat from a fast spreading maize disease known as Maize Lethal Necrosis (MLN) disease. The disease is the result of a combination of two different viruses occurring together in the same plant. One virus is Maize Chlorotic Mottle Virus (MCMV), which when combined with another virus Sugarcane Mosaic Virus (SCMV) results in the development of MLN disease, leading to serious plant damage. MLN disease was first reported in the Bomet district in Kenya September 2011. To date the highly destructive disease has reduced maize production by as much as 60% in south, central and eastern Kenya. A study by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in July 2012 observed that MLN disease has affected more than 16,000 ha of land, with the potential of destroying 80% of maize crop. Read more of this post

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US drought could spark a global food crisis

August 7, 2012 by Leave a comment

The US is expecting lower than average grain yield due to the drought currently sweeping the country. (Flickr, CIMMYT CCBY-NC-SA 2.0)

The US is currently facing its most severe drought of the past 50 years, raising questions about the implications for global food security. The US is a major producer of grain, including maize and soybean, which have both been adversely affected by the drought, causing a knock-on effect for the global market.

The predicted reduction in yields will drive up the price of maize, which in turn will increase the cost of wheat worldwide as people turn to alternative food supplies. With the reserves of grain already at their lowest, countries will have no choice but to pay the higher price, or else risk suffering a major food shortage. Read more of this post

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Solution to devastating weed draws closer for sub Saharan Africa

August 3, 2012 by 1 Comment

Yield reductions due to highly invasive parasitic Striga may soon be a thing of the past. (Flickr, CIMMYT CCBY-NC-SA 2.0)

Striga, commonly known as witchweed, is a group of parasitic weeds found in over a third of cereal crops in sub Saharan Africa (SSA). Crops typically yield at least 40% less when they are parasitised by Striga, causing an estimated US$ 7 billion loss and reducing the food security of millions.  Read more of this post

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Maize disease in Kenya no longer a mystery and being controlled

July 31, 2012 by 2 Comments

Maize showing symptoms of Maize chlorotic mottle virus © CIMMYT (CC BY-NC-SA license, via Flickr)

Update [March 2013]: More information about the pests and viruses associated with Maize Lethal Necrosis disease can be found on the Plantwise Knowledge Bank.

In January this year, ProMed-mail reported an undiagnosed disease of maize that had been destroying farmers’ crops in the Rift Valley of Kenya since the previous September. The Ministry of Agriculture in Kenya swiftly took action to investigate the problem, and at the end of May, the Minister of Agriculture Hon. Dr Sally Kosgei announced their conclusions. Read more of this post

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Stunting crop plant growth to reduce resource use

May 29, 2012 by 1 Comment

One of the researchers, Burkhard Schulz, shows sorghum that has been dwarfed with treatment of propiconazole, with untreated maize plants behind. © Purdue Agricultural Communication / Tom Campbell

Plant scientists at Purdue University in Indiana, USA, along with their colleagues from Seoul National University in South Korea, have found a way to keep crop plants small without having a reduction in yield. The diminutive plants have reduced resource requirements and are more tolerant of severe weather conditions. Read more of this post

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Plant-bacteria relationships a-maize scientists

April 30, 2012 by Leave a comment

The seedlings of cultivated Zea mays. Credit Bff.

Many of us have seen the adverts trying to convince us that there are ‘good bacteria’ that we should be making the most of in yogurty, pro-biotic drinks to help keep our guts healthy. Now it turns out that plants like maize are already one step ahead of us – not only making the most of beneficial soil (or rhizo-) bacteria, but having also learnt to draw the good bacteria towards their root system. Once they’ve done that, the plants just sit back, relax, and let the hardworking bacteria do all the work for them.

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